In a 5-4 decision announced today, the U.S. Supreme Court held that Wisconsin could prohibit development of a subdivision lot—while allowing development on an adjacent lot owned by the same family—without paying just compensation. The Court’s decision is a victory for states and local governments and a loss for property rights advocates. Continue Reading U.S. Supreme Court Finds No Regulatory Taking in Wisconsin Case
A Denver City Council committee has taken the first step toward creating Colorado’s first-ever tourist improvement district. On Wednesday, June 7, the Business, Arts, Workforce & Aeronautical Services committee unanimously approved Bill 17-0653, authorizing the district, which is designed as a mechanism to help fund tourism-related facility improvements and services like the upcoming $233 million Colorado Convention Center expansion project. Continue Reading Denver City Council Advances Tourist Improvement District Proposal
About two weeks into construction, the “Beloved Community Village” is taking shape on an otherwise vacant lot near 38th and Brighton. According to the group organizing volunteers for the build, the project for people experiencing homelessness currently has more volunteers than work, but encourages those who want to help to drop by with snacks, a donation, or just to say hi. As covered in an earlier blog post, the community will include eleven individual shelters, as well as shared kitchen and bathroom facilities.
Late last month, we told you about an important bill introduced in the Colorado General Assembly. The bill had passed in the Colorado House of Representatives, and was headed for the Senate. It was drafted to address the sharp decrease in condominium construction in this state, caused by developers’ fear of construction defect claims brought by condominium homeowners’ associations. A description of the bill can be found in our original client alert here.
An update: The bill has become law. The Senate passed HB 1279 on May 4, and sent it to the Governor’s desk for signature. Governor Hickenlooper signed it Tuesday, May 23, amid celebration from legislators and reform advocates. As we noted last month, the bill “is not a complete ‘fix’ for the condominium construction issues, if such a fix even exists,” but it is widely considered a good first step.
Last week, the Colorado Senate passed a bipartisan bill—House Bill 1375—requiring school districts to either develop a plan by the 2019-2010 academic year to equitably share mill levy override funds with charter schools of their districts or to distribute 95% of the per pupil amount of the revenue to those charter schools. The bill further requires charter schools to post certain tax documents on their websites and to limit their financial waivers. Continue Reading “First of its Kind” Colorado Charter School Funding Bill Headed to Governor for Signature